‘‘I don’t consider myself a religious nerd,’’ the wife of Newcastle Anglican Bishop Brian Farran joked to The Word.

‘‘But the character turned out to also be a bit plucky, so that was good.’’

Mrs Farran is the sister of novelist John Marsden, who wrote the teen adventure book Tomorrow, When The War Began and its sequels.

Marsden obviously loves and respects his elder sister Robin very much. Tomorrow, When the War Began is dedicated to her, and Robyn Mathers, the most noble of the characters in the Tomorrow series, is based on her.

But even Marsden admitted that the character portrayed on the big screen adaptation of the novel was more nerdy than his sister.

‘‘He rang and told me she was going to be different to me,’’ Mrs Farran said.

Some diehard Marsden fans might be upset by plot and character changes by the film’s writer-director Stuart Beattie to make the film more appealing for cinema presentation, but Mrs Farran is not one of them.

‘‘I think the film is fantastic and we’re thrilled it was filmed up here in the Hunter Region,’’ she said.

Mrs Farran attended the recent Sydney premiere as well as the Newcastle screening last week with her husband Bishop Farran.

During the Sydney premiere Mrs Farran met the actress Ashleigh Cummings (pictured) who plays Robyn Mathers in the film.

The young actress was excited to meet the woman her character was based on and the pair chatted about the prim, polite and deeply religious nature of Robyn in the film.

‘‘I did like Robyn’s loyalty in the film,’’ Mrs Farran said.

Tomorrow, When The War Began , was filmed late last year in Maitland, Raymond Terrace and Dungog.

It opens nationally on Thursday, September 2.